Thursday, September 20, 2018

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Skidelsky warns that having failed to learn crucial lessons from a 2008 economic crash caused by a reckless financial sector exploiting inequality and austerity for short-term profit, we may soon be doomed to more of the same. And Riley Griffin reports on the large number of U.S. homeowners borrowing against their limited equity to try to pay bills.

- Paul Buchheit weighs in on how U.S. public policy is constrained by a long-cultivated aversion to anything seen as "social". And Matthew Desmond argues that a focus on jobs has glossed over the reality that they'll never offer a meaningful solution to the blight of poverty.

- Laurie MacFarlane's New Thinking for the British Economy offers a worthwhile set of options for a more equal and sustainable economy. And Simon Tilford argues that common wealth represents the best and most politically palatable means of reining in inequality in the UK.

- A group of academics calls for the EU to start pursuing stability and well-being rather than focusing unduly on growth. But Noah Smith makes the case that economic growth isn't inconsistent with sustainable development.

- Finally, Kyle Bakx reports on the large number of faulty parts which are still in use in Canadian pipelines. And the aftermath of Hurricane Florence is offering far too many reminders of the consequences of failing to require businesses to properly account for their products, with toxic substances ranging from coal ash to hog manure breaching their containment.